


Sororal Piety

by Piinutbutter



Category: Zero: Akai Chou | Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
Genre: F/F, Obsession, One-Sided Relationship, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 02:38:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11049567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piinutbutter/pseuds/Piinutbutter
Summary: Many duties come along with being an elder sister. Kureha must protect, care for, and entertain her younger sibling. She does all of this without complaint, because as much work as she can be sometimes, Kureha loves her sister.





	Sororal Piety

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elwing_alcyone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elwing_alcyone/gifts).



Kureha is a good sister. She treats their family's shrine with the respect her sister's body deserves. She keeps her voice low and her touch gentle inside her sister's walls. She tucks freshly-picked flowers into the doors of her sister's altar, adorning her lovely hair with vibrant shades of white and red. She looks beautiful as she is, of course, but Kureha wants to show how much she cares.

As Kureha grows older and learns more talents, the flowers are joined by origami, elaborate flowers of folded paper joining their living sisters in the duty of keeping Kureha's sister dressed and elegant for the day.

A storm hits one night, thunder and lightning tearing through the village as pouring rain chilled it to the bone. The following morning, the rest of Kureha's family can't understand her distress - the little that she can feel - at the damage the night had done to her sister. Wind has torn a brittle section of roof away, and water has seeped in, staining the floor. 

Kureha works the whole day to repair the damage to the shrine's interior, begging her father to patch the roof with a stronger foundation. She fills the altar with candles, watching them carefully while she works to make sure none die out. She needs to keep her sister warm.

Even away from her sister, Kureha keeps her in her thoughts. She minds where she walks, taking care that there is always space for someone to walk beside her. When she sits, she always makes sure to clear the space at her side. She only stops setting out two teacups when her mother asks her to stop being wasteful.

The rest of her family can't understand. They think it's all child's play, the overactive imagination of a young Remaining. They don't hear the soft whispers in Kureha's ear, the cold breeze that ghosts over her shoulder at night, even in the warmest months.

A fever strikes Kureha one winter, her body burning in spite of the cold gripping at her lungs. Tossing and turning in the drafty bedroom, unable to sleep, she considers the concept of death. Her sister is here with her, but in death, would they be able to truly reunite? Kureha indulges herself in the thought, her shaking fingers twitching at the prospect of running through her sister's hair, the long strands falling over her knuckles like waves.

In death, she would finally be able to ask her sister for her name. It's always felt disrespectful to force one on her.

The fever breaks. Kureha is almost sad that it does. She doesn’t wish to die, necessarily, but the fever brought with it so many vivid dreams.

She takes solace in the fact that she’s no longer bedridden, and free to visit the shrine once more. Her father has fixed the roof, and her sister is safe again. She closes the doors softly behind her and places a paper rose on the altar, whispering all the things she’ll never say to anyone but her other half.

Her family greets her with good news upon her return home. A new pair of twins has been born. Two healthy baby boys. Kureha hopes the elder will be as good to his brother as she has been to her sister.


End file.
